A Quiver Full of Stories
by Love.Strength.Hope
Summary: A Collection of oneshots based mainly around Oliver and Felicity but I might do some with or about the other characters as well. I'm rating the entire collection as T just to be safe but ratings will vary. *UPDATE* Chapter two: Oliver is trying to adjust to the changes since he arrived home from his duel, but he can't shake the feeling that something is missing in the Lair. Rated K
1. Chapter 1

**Okay I need a happy story right now. Every video I watch on YouTube and every story I read about these two is all angsty and sad and I can't handle it! There's already so much angst on the show so I needed a happy fluffy piece and I know I'm not the only one in dire need of fluff.**

**This is a future-fic, set some fifteen years in the future and it is just a fluff piece wrapped in more fluff with the sun shining down on a unicorn with a lollipop in its mouth, jumping over said fluff piece and leaving behind a rainbow…in other words, SUPER fluffy.**

**By the way, I wrote 'mom' in instead of 'mum' just because it didn't feel right having them say 'mum'. But because I do say 'mum' there might be that spelling in there, so sorry if there is.**

**Hope you enjoy**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING… **

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"Mom?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"How did you and daddy meet?"

Felicity stopped mid-brush and looked in the reflection of the mirror to see 'his' eyes staring back at her. She felt a smile tug up the corner of her mouth as the memory came back to her as clear as if it had happened yesterday.

"Well you know how mommy is really smart and daddy is, well…"

"Dumb?" The little girl supplied

"Kaya Donna Moira Queen!" Felicity tried to look stern but she was finding it hard to keep a straight face.

"Sorry mommy"

Felicity happened to glance at her in the mirror and saw how awful her "Stern Face" looked. She was happy Tommy wasn't here or else he would've called her out on it.

Felicity cleared her throat and concentrated on brushing Kaya's light brown locks. "I used to work with computers at your Grandfather's company"

"At Queen Consol…Consol…" Kaya puffed out a breath of frustration as she stumbled over the word "At daddy's work?"

Felicity smiled at her daughter "That's right. One day, out of the blue, in walks your father"

"What was he like back then?"

"Much like he is now; tall, charming, very handsome…" Felicity watched for Kaya's reaction and sure enough her face screwed up like she had eaten a lemon. Her tongue stuck out and she made a little disgusted sound.

Felicity let out a laugh "…but back then your father was a bit of a celebrity"

"My dad?" Felicity just nodded her head and smiled back "Was he a movie star?"

"No, not that big of a celebrity"

"So then why was he famous?"

Felicity stopped brushing Kaya's hair as her eyes widened. She can't exactly tell her seven year old daughter that her dad was a man-whore who assaulted paparazzi and peed on police cars because he was intoxicated.

"Umm, that is a good question, you see he- -"

"I was a celebrity because I was lost at sea for five years"

Felicity looked up to see Oliver standing in the doorway behind her with Tommy clinging to his hand. She smiled gratefully at him as he came walking in and kissed her cheek.

"What're you talking about?" He whispered in her ear

"Kaya wanted to know the story of how we met"

"And my celebrity status came up, how?"

Felicity gave him a sheepish look and just shrugged.

"You were lost at sea for five years daddy?" Kaya asked; her voice in awe.

"No one is lost at sea for five years without dying Kaya" Tommy piped up, perching himself on the edge of the bed and pushing his glasses up his nose. "Dad obviously managed to find land and take shelter, right dad?"

Felicity felt Oliver lean into her and whispered "He's definitely your son"

Felicity smiled at that as Oliver sat next to Tommy on the bed and put his arm around him. "You're right son. I ended up on an island."

"Wow! What happened?"

Felicity put the brush back on the dresser, deciding that was enough island talk for one night. "Hey, I thought you wanted to know how your dad and I met."

"Oh I do! But - -"

"No 'buts' either you get this story or none at all"

"Aww mom!" Kaya moaned dragging out the 'o'

"Nope, come on get in bed and I'll tell you both the rest."

"Ugh, fine" Felicity watched Kaya slide off the seat and slowly made her way to her bed.

Oliver and Felicity decided a while ago that they wouldn't tell any of the kids what happened to Oliver or what they got – and sometimes still get – up to at nights.

It wasn't necessarily about keeping them safe – Felicity could easily be an advocate against that – but it was more about keeping their innocence for as long as Oliver and Felicity could help it. Kaya and Tommy don't need to know what happened to their father while on Lian Yu or all of the danger, not only their parents went through but Digg, Roy, Thea, Lyla and Laurel went through nearly every night for close to ten years.

That's something Felicity wants to keep from her children until they believe they're ready to hear it.

Once Kaya and Tommy were tucked in, Felicity sat on Tommy's bed as Oliver sat on Kaya's. Felicity started to push his unruly brunette curls off his forehead.

"What happened mom?"

"Your father, who was somewhat of a celebrity, walks into my office because he needed technical help, so I helped him out."

After a moment pause Kaya asked in disbelief "Is that it?"

Felicity started to nod her head "Well no, I mean he kept coming back for more technical help and it felt like I was becoming his personal researcher but - -"

"You're forgetting the best part Felicity" Oliver interrupted her and she frowned at him "Don't tell me you forgot some of the first words you said to me?"

Felicity groaned and squeezed her eyes shut "I couldn't forget that embarrassing exchange even if I tried."

"What happened dad?" Tommy asked

"You know how your mother sometimes blurts out random things?"

Both of the kids giggled

"You mean like the time mom got flustered when she told the mail man to just put any packages in her - -"

"Okay, that's enough of that" Felicity said covering Tommy's mouth "But ten points for using flustered correctly"

"Exactly like that Tommy"

Felicity fixed Oliver with as hard of a glare as she could muster but Oliver was unaffected by it. He just smiled back at her and much to Felicity's dismay, continued. "You see, my dad, your grandfather, was on that boat with me when it sank and sadly, he didn't make it."

Felicity grabbed Oliver's hand and squeezed it in support. During the fifteen years they've known each other Oliver has never mentioned what happened to Robert. Felicity knows he didn't drown but she doesn't want to ask him for specifics.

She felt him squeeze her hand back but his attention was solely on their kids. "After I politely introduced myself your mother says 'Of course. I know who you are you're Mr Queen' and then I say 'No, Mr Queen was my father' and do you know what she said?"

His question was aimed at their kids but his eyes fell on her. Felicity squeezed her eyes shut and let out a big sigh. That moment is definitely ranked in the top five moments Felicity really put her foot in it.

"What did you say mom?" Kaya piped up eagerly.

Felicity shook her head and looked straight at Oliver "'Right but he's dead, I mean he drowned'"

Their kids gasped at her words and Felicity groaned, mortified that her seven and nine year old kids are shocked by what she said

"And it didn't stop there either…" Felicity saw Oliver's grin split his face in two as he looked animatedly at his kids. "…'But you didn't, which means you could come down to the IT Department and listen to me babble, which will end, in 3, 2, 1"

Kid's laughter filled the room but Felicity just looked at Oliver in amazement. He's done it before with remembering the colour of the pen she was chewing on but she didn't know he remembered word for word, her entire babble. When Oliver finally looked at her he just smiled sheepishly and shrugged at her, like it was totally normal to remember entire dialogues.

She returned his smile when Kaya spoke up "What did you say daddy?"

"Yeah dad, what did you say to that?" Tommy asked excitedly.

Oliver let go of Felicity's hand to place it just beside Kaya's head, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear in the process and leaned conspiratorially towards Kaya and Tommy.

"I'll let you two trouble makers in on a little secret, one that your mom doesn't even know about"

With her curiosity peaked, Felicity leaned in to hear what Oliver was going to say along with Kaya and Tommy.

"It's not what I said that matters; it's what I did that is important."

"What did you do daddy?" Kaya asked impatiently

"He smiled" All eyes looked to Felicity but her head was tilted as her eyes stayed on Oliver, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I smiled and it was the first, real smile since I had returned from five years on the island"

Felicity's eyes widened at that. He's right, she didn't know that.

She didn't know his first genuine smile since returning from the island the first time was because she let her mouth run before her mind could comprehend what she was saying. Felicity watched Oliver for a moment longer before feeling small fingers grip her hand and pulled her attention away.

"Mom?"

"Yeah Tommy?" She asked going back to combing his hair off his forehead.

"Even though you get annoyed at yourself for it, I'm glad you have 'foot in mouth disease'"

Felicity breathed out a laugh at the name "Is that so?"

"Yes. Because, if you didn't then daddy wouldn't have smiled and he might not have fallen in love with you then"

Felicity smiled fondly at Tommy and quietly agreed with Oliver's earlier statement: he really is her son.

She bent down and kissed his forehead "Thanks little man, but that's not when your father fell in love with me. That came a little later"

"When?"

Felicity smiled down at him and kissed his forehead again before standing up "That is a story for another time"

Both Kaya and Tommy started to complain but Oliver spoke over them "You heard your mother, its bed time"

"Plus it's late and you have school in the morning" Felicity reminded them and noticed that Kaya screwed her nose up while Tommy looked genuinely excited at the mention of school. Felicity, for once, held her tongue and refrained from telling Oliver that Kaya is definitely his daughter.

After kissing them both goodnight Felicity and Oliver walked out of their room and closed the door. They started to walk down the hall towards the living room when Felicity had to ask.

"Did you really mean that?"

"Mean what?"

"About the smile. How I caused your first genuine smile"

She heard him breathe out a laugh and felt his hand slide into hers as he laced their fingers together. "You know I'm a terrible liar."

Felicity looked at him and saw no trace of a lie on his face. She smiled back but couldn't help but to tease him "Yeah, those lies you told me before you appeared in your 'Green Arrow' leather in the back of my car were really bad"

"Hey!" He cried indignantly "They weren't that bad"

Felicity just raised an eyebrow at him "Oliver, a sports drink in a syringe?"

She watched him physically wince at that "Okay, not the most solid excuse I'll admit, but what about Steve, my friend who likes archery?"

Felicity scoffed "Where you brought me an arrow that perfectly matched the description the police used for the 'Dark Archer' aka Malcolm Merlyn's arrows"

Felicity watched him open and close his mouth and she couldn't decide if he was trying to come up with an excuse or if he was too speechless to even say anything. "Okay, point taken. What about the scavenger hunt?"

"The one with the military grade cryptographic security protocol that, once I hacked, showed me armoured car routes which happened to be having a rough week with hijackings" Felicity couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips at his look of embarrassment "You mean that scavenger hunt?"

Oliver sat on the couch with a sigh and pulled her down with him. Her head rested on his chest as his arm hugged her to him. "Okay, my excuses were not the best"

"That's putting it lightly"

"But you know, you and Digg were the only ones to call me out on it"

Felicity sat up and repositioned herself so she was looking up at him "Why didn't you marry Digg then?"

"He was already taken"

Felicity lightly smacked him on his chest as he let out a chuckle "But in all seriousness, you and Digg knew I was lying most of time and I mean Digg, he tried to get it out of me and he still tried to do his job as my bodyguard then. But you…"

Oliver trailed off and Felicity just watched him patiently as he got that far away look in his eyes "You knew I was lying and you let me know through the looks you gave me but you never pushed me to tell you what I was up to. For a reason I'm sure you don't even know why, you trusted me."

He finally looked down at her with a ghost of a smile and Felicity felt his hand come up to tuck her hair behind her ear "There was just something about you"

Felicity smiled and leant into his hand "Well, for what it's worth, there was something about you too that made me overlook the lies in favour of helping you"

Felicity watched a smile grace his face and she couldn't help but to push herself up to kiss him. She still marvels at the fact that they've been together now for eleven years and, when she kisses him she still gets butterflies in her stomach.

"Good thing you did too" He whispered against her lips "Because then 'Green Arrow' would still probably be known as the vigilante, hell, I might even be dead after my mother shot me - -"

"To be honest I'm surprised you survived as long as you did without me" She teased and he just smiled back at her, choosing to ignore her teasing.

"We wouldn't have cleaned up the city, re-built the Glades and taken back my father's company."

"I wouldn't be the head of the IT Department and the Director of Applied Sciences Division" Felicity added

"And we wouldn't have been married with two amazing kids"

"Speaking of whom, Kaya definitely takes after you"

"Really?" He asked pulling away slightly to look at her "What makes you say that?"

"Because she has as much enthusiasm about school as you do with board meetings"

Oliver breathed out a laugh and Felicity sighed in contentment at the look he was giving her. So much love and adoration was in his eyes and they were fixed on her

"I love you"

Felicity smiled and leaned in "And I love you" she whispered before capturing his lips with hers.

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**And that's that. Sorry if the ending seemed a bit dragged out or abrupt, I didn't know how to end it.**

**I hope you liked it because I think I want to turn this into an oneshot collection. It will be a place where I can post any of my oneshots but also if people want to send me a prompt then this is where I will post them. So if anyone has a prompt then PM me, otherwise stay tuned=)**

**Thanks for reading**

**Mel**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't where this came from, I'm not even sure why I remembered the fern but here is another oneshot.**

**I haven't actually seen 3x12, which sucks by the way, but I have watched some clips, especially the Oliver and Felicity reunion one and my god! My feelings are so battered and bruised right now!**

**Arg! It's going to be a long second half of a season when hopefully we get some happy Oliver and Felicity by the end of the season…I miss their happy scenes…Anyways I was trying to say that this doesn't follow after 3x12, it's my own version if it were to happen in an alternative universe where the writers were to make Oliver and Felicity have adorable scenes like they did in season 2 and the beginning of the first episode of season 3.**

**DISCLAIMER: AGAIN, I OWN NOTHING…**

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It had only been six days since Oliver got back from being presumed dead…again. But ever since his return to the Lair he can't shake the feeling that something is missing.

It was something that he couldn't put his finger on. He thought that maybe it was the way the team dynamics had changed. How they almost don't need him as a leader anymore but he realised, that felt more like wounded pride than the feeling of something being out of place.

It had taken Oliver three days to realise that not only was something missing but something, in the Lair, felt physically out of place.

He thought that maybe it was because Laurel had claimed Barry's glass case as her own, but he shook his head and dismissed the thought almost immediately.

By the fifth day he was getting so frustrated that he asked Roy, who just happened to be in the Lair with him, if they had changed something or some of the equipment around. Roy just looked around with a frown on his face and shook his head. He said that everything is in the same place it was before Oliver had left.

Oliver had to refrain from arguing with the kid and instead just nodded his head.

It wasn't until the sixth day, where everyone was out patrolling different areas that he stumbled upon his answer.

While he was on a rooftop overlooking a hot spot for criminal activity in the Glades, he saw a flash of colour in his peripherals. He turned towards the source while reaching back for an arrow thinking it was someone trying to sneak up on him. He breathed out slowly and almost laughed at himself as he realised it was just a plant.

Something clicked in his brain though and before he knew it he was running back towards Verdant.

He burst through the back door and ignored the startled yelp he heard coming from inside. He came into full view of the Lair and scanned the room looking for it.

"Oliver! Okay, I am seriously considering making you wear a bell."

He heard her but didn't respond as he kept looking for it, even thought, at the back of his mind, he knew it's not here.

He felt fingers grip his arm making him stop his fruitless search and look at Felicity. "Hey, is everything okay? Is someone hurt?"

"What? No, I haven't heard anything from the others." He replied distractedly as he walked around her to her computers.

He thought that maybe it was behind her monitors, reasoning that it was moved around a lot. He frowned when he didn't see it and looked up again to have another scan of the Lair.

"Oliver" He felt fingers grip both of his arms as Felicity called to him. He looked down at her and he could see the worry on her face. "What's wrong?"

"The fern" He sighed as he couldn't help feeling a little silly being upset about the unknown whereabouts of his fern. "I don't remember seeing it since I returned."

He looked at Felicity and immediately noticed how guilty she looked and how she quickly retracted her hands from his arms.

"The fern? I'm sure it's around here somewhere" Oliver frowned at her as she turned away from him.

Was she lying to him?

"Now that you mention it I think Diggle might have taken it home, he said something about Lyla loving ferns."

Yup, she was definitely lying to him.

"Felicity, what happened to my fern?"

He heard her sigh before turning back around to face him with her hands out in a placating gesture. "Okay, I'll tell you just, please don't be mad"

"Felicity" He knows he just growled a warning at her but he really needs to know where it is.

"I may or may not have forgotten to water it" He raised an eyebrow at her choice of words "Okay, more 'may' than 'not' but I was going to replace it; I just never seemed to have the time to do it."

Oliver frowned at her in confusion "How could you forget to water it? You're here every night and it's a bit of an eyesore in contrast with everything down here"

He watched as she fidgeted with her fingers "Well I may or may not have - -"

"Felicity!" He couldn't help the tone his voice took; he was getting beyond frustrated.

"Alright! Jezz, someone is extra grumpy tonight"

He breathed out an air of irritation and used a lot of his willpower to stay quiet and wait for her to continue.

"I walked out"

He frowned at her "You walked out?"

"I left" He heard a small sigh escape her lips and watched as she ran a hand over her hair before continuing. "After Merlyn told us you were dead, after we found out that the blood on the sword was yours and after I watched helplessly as Roy and John were nearly killed by Brickwell with the help of his copious amounts of goons with really big automated weapons, I walked away"

The Lair fell deathly quiet as Oliver was having trouble processing what Felicity just confessed. She left? The very thought of her ever leaving is just so foreign to him. Felicity, ever since she joined his cause, has always been here waiting on his every beck and call. Her leaving would be the equivalent of them stumbling around in the dark

If she didn't show up or if he didn't hear from her at least once a day then he knew that something was wrong.

Oliver was brought back by Felicity clearing her throat. "I uh…I was gone for over a week and we both know Roy and Diggle wouldn't have even thought to water it, so it died. It died because I wasn't here to take care of it."

She added the last part in so quietly, Oliver was sure that she didn't mean for him to hear it.

Okay, so he understands why the fern is gone now but why did Felicity leave?

Diggle did mention to him about what occurred the night Felicity was referring to about her feeling helpless. Diggle told Oliver that she interfered by closing the garage door and effectively locking them in the warehouse where she thought they would be safe from danger. But that's not really something to leave the team over.

A realisation clicked in his head at the thought.

"You left the same night you guys found out I was dead" He watched her look at him in surprise before ducking her head and nodding imperceptibly in confirmation.

Oliver let out a sigh and realised he was still holding his bow. He slowly walked to his case and placed it gently in its holder. He stared at the bow, fully aware of Felicity's eyes watching him before he turned around and asked her quietly

"Why did you leave?"

Oliver watched her throw her arms out to her sides and could see she felt frustrated by the question. "Because we thought you were dead Oliver."

He kept looking at her as she looked at him with an expression mixed between sorrow and anger. Why does he feel like this conversation is well overdue?

"All of this…" She said quietly as she gestured around the Lair "…all that we've done for the city and the people who live in it. All of the achievements and personal growth we've all gone through. It's all because of you Oliver" He couldn't help but to feel a swell of pride at what she said. He smiled slightly at her and he noticed the slightest upturn of her lips in response

"We wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you and when you were gone I…" She breathed out a sigh of frustration "…I just didn't know if I could keep doing this without you. It didn't feel right"

He frowned as he noticed her shoulders sagged which suggested that she felt defeated and that is something Felicity has never been. He walked towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder. The gesture, he realised, is something he hasn't done in a while. In fact, ever since that night at the hospital when Sara was born, he can count on one hand the amount of times they've actually touched each other since then.

"I'm so sorry Oliver" She breathed out and Oliver could feel his chest tug painfully at how sad she sounded

"For what?"

"For walking away and consequently killing your fern" She replied quietly trying to inject a little humour but Oliver could hear an underlying of anger in her voice "It shouldn't have even occurred to me do that; to leave and abandon the team, my friends. All because I was so lost and upset"

"Hey" he urged her quietly as he gripped both of her shoulders. He tried to duck his head to look in her downturned eyes but she refused to meet his eyes

"It's just a fern Felicity" Her eyes rose suddenly to meet his and he couldn't help but to smile at her "We can always get another one"

How could he stay mad at her for leaving? He doesn't know what he would do if he was told by Malcolm Merlyn that Felicity was dead. He'd imagine a lot of self-destruction would ensue so he can't blame her for doing what she did. The main thing is that she came back and she helped the team keep the Glades safe when the SCPD abandoned the Glades. He was so unbelievably proud of everyone and what they did to help keep this city safe in his absence.

Felicity watched him for a moment before he watched a beautiful smile grace her face. "Obviously, to you, it's not just a fern"

Oliver smiled in response and let go of her shoulders "No it's not"

"So what is it to you?"

Oliver hesitated. He knew exactly what the fern was to him but was he ready to tell Felicity? She knows he loves her and although she hasn't said anything he's pretty sure she loves him too. But he's not ready to jump off that bridge yet, hopefully soon but he knows he still has a lot of soul searching to do and the last thing he wants is to hurt her on his journey of self-discovery.

Oliver ended up just smiling at Felicity and replied "You'll know soon enough"

He turned away from her to go to the bathroom so he could get his suit off

"I think I already do"

He heard her faintly and it made him stop in his retreat. He turned back towards her and she saw a small, shy smile on her face. Oliver shook his head and smile back "It wouldn't surprise me if you did know"

The next morning Oliver awoke to typing and knew who it was straight away. He slowly sat up from the floor and started to make his way over to her when what he saw made him stop in his tracks

Felicity was sitting there in her usual dress that she wears for work - which Oliver thinks show off too much of her legs and back but he's not really sure if that's an objective opinion because he thinks most of her dresses are like that. But what made him smile was the bright, healthy green of a fern sitting next to her on the table.

He must have made a noise because she turned around with a ghost of a smile on her lips

"You should've bought me a bed" He said, re-calling the memory of the first time she bought him a fern

Felicity breathed out a laugh and replied with ease "You're sleeping on the floor"

Oliver smiled back and approached her to find out what she was doing here so early all the while, all he was thinking about was: soon.

They will be together soon.

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**There you have it, another oneshot added to the collection. I think another will be added soon because I can't sleep after watching the reunion clip from YouTube I need to write my feelings out so I think that the conversation I was planning on writing for my other story: Healing Wounds, could be uploaded in a few hours.**

**Thanks for reading and remember if you want to have a go at a prompt then PM me!**

**Mel**


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